During a speech at the union’s national community action program conference in Washington, D.C., Obama took two clear shots at Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney regarding the 2009 auto bailout of General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC.

“Some even said we should ‘let Detroit go bankrupt.’”

“Think about what that choice would have meant for this country. If we had turned our backs on you; if America had thrown in the towel; GM and Chrysler wouldn’t exist today.”

And later on in the speech:

“Because I’ve got to admit, it’s been funny to watch some of these politicians completely rewrite history now that you’re back on your feet. These are the folks who said if we went forward with our plan to rescue Detroit, ‘you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye.’ Now they’re saying they were right all along. Or worse, they’re saying that the problem is that you, the workers, made out like bandits in all of this; that saving the American auto industry was just about paying back unions. Really?”

Obama never mentioned Romney by name, but used the quotes above from the Michigan native’s 2008 New York Times opinion editorial, titled “Let Detroit go bankrupt,” which urged the government not to bail out the struggling automakers.

"President Obama has failed Michigan, said Amanda Henneberg, Romney Campaign spokeswoman. "On his watch, thousands of Michiganders have lost their jobs, homes and businesses. No other candidate cares for Michigan or the automotive industry like Mitt Romney does, and he is heartbroken to see what has happened to his native state."

“With the economy in complete freefall, there weren’t any private companies or investors willing to take a chance on the auto industry. Anyone in the financial sector could tell you that,” Obama said today during the speech, which was live-streamed by the White House.

“You’re reminding us that no matter how tough times get, Americans are tougher,” Obama said. “No matter how many punches we take, we don’t give up. We get up, we fight back, we move forward, and we come out the other side stronger than before.”

The two-minute commercial, which officials have called apolitical, had Eastwood Eastwood in the role of the nation's coach, motivating the country by describing the resilience of the Detroit auto industry.